Page 108 of Worse Than Murder
‘No.’
‘How long ago was this?’
‘A couple of hours.’
‘Long enough for him to have gone home and used a landline,’ I say. ‘Or pop into the newspaper office.’
‘That’s what I thought.’
‘And why ring you and not the police?’
‘Well, that’s me being a nosy journalist. If you google Jack Pemberton sightings, one of the first hits is the extensive coverage on the newspaper’s website and a link to report any sightings to yours truly. Alison has something similar on Facebook.’
‘Do they often tell you who they are when they call with a sighting?’
‘Usually. Most are tourists. The ones from further afield usually email in.’
I sit back and fold my arms. ‘Are there many Johns in High Chapel?’
‘Plenty.’
‘Do they have dogs?’
‘Most people have dogs around here.’
‘You don’t.’
‘No. But then I’m a hard-faced journalist with no emotions.’
I smile. ‘Who are you trying to kid?’
‘So, is Jack Pemberton in High Chapel and is he going to make himself known?’ Tania asks.
‘Why would he? What’s his motive? From the point of view of the police, he’s a wanted murderer. Iain told me this morning he’d tear him apart if he ever saw him again. Lynne is hardly going to welcome him back with open arms. There’s no reason for him to come back.’
‘Unfinished business.’
‘Such as?’
Tania blows out her cheeks. ‘Maybe he wants to finally confess. Unburden himself.’
‘Then just do it. Why hide? Look, I’ve been thinking, all this time I’ve thought of Jack being a serial abuser, that he was abusing his kids and went too far, killed them and did a runner. However, both Iain and Lynne, this morning, told me that Jack didn’t show any signs of having tendencies towards young children until Travis came along. It’s possible that young, good-looking Travis was a manipulator who saw something within Jack and brought it out of him.’
‘So, let me get this clear in my head,’ Tania says, a look of confusion on her face. ‘Travis comes along, worms his way into the Pemberton family, sees a fellow paedophile in Jack and gets him to live out his fantasies on his daughters. Jack, disgusted, then kills his daughters and runs away.’
‘Possibly.’
‘Where does Travis’s stolen car come into it?’
‘My only guess is that he planned to abduct Celia and Jennifer, kill them, and use his car to hide their bodies. He said it was stolen to cover himself.’
‘And what happened to Travis?’
I tell Tania Lynne lied about having an affair with Travis and Iain told me he literally drove Travis out of the village.
‘I knew it,’ Tania says, looking almost smug. ‘No offence to Lynne or anything, but I didn’t think Travis would go for someone like her. Why saddle himself with a married woman who had three kids?’
‘When he could have had a sexy reporter with no ties.’
